― Flannery O'Connor
Based on a true story, Bernie is the tale of an assistant funeral director (Jack Black) who quickly, through charm and philanthropy, works his way into the heart of a small town. When he befriends Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a cold-hearted heiress who the town hates just as much as it loves him, little does he realize how much he's risking. Marjorie becomes more and more controlling, and Bernie, sweetheart that he is, can't tell her no, even when she's driving him crazy. Eventually, something's gotta snap. And it does.
This movie is like a primer on Life in the South. Shot in a drama/documentary format, it interviews elderly church-women (DLOL's - dearliddleol'ladies), cheerful, foul-mouthed farmers, and matter-of-fact store-owners.
If you've lived in the south, you know all these people. In fact, the overall effect is so realistic that I was never sure which were actors and which were the real townspeople of Carthage, TX (it turns out there was a mix.) And it's clear-eyed enough to show the town in its beauty, but also its fallibility, given that this is a black comedy about crime and public opinion.
